Cheboygan Chiefs edged by St. Ignace in 14-10 defeat

Friday

Oct 19, 2012 at 11:59 PMOct 20, 2012 at 12:04 AM

The Saints, who were ranked fourth in Division 8 in the Associated Press High School football poll coming into Friday, finished the season a perfect 9-0, while the playoff-bound Chiefs dropped to 6-3. Both teams will await who they'll face in the playoffs when they tune in to the MHSAA High School Football Playoff Selection Show on Fox Sports Detroit at 6 p.m. Sunday night. The Chiefs were looking to upend the undefeated Saints, whom they had not faced since the 2008 season.

Jared Greenleaf

By JARED GREENLEAF sports@cheboygantribune.comST. IGNACE — The St. Ignace Saints plowed over every opponent they faced this season. But on this particular Friday night—the night an old rivalry was renewed—the Cheboygan Chiefs refused to let that happen. And as the fourth quarter wore down to the final seconds, you had to believe it was the Chiefs' night. But just as the Cheboygan defense made as many crucial stops throughout, the Saints matched them on Cheboygan's final offensive opportunity—the most pivotal point in the contest. The Saints capped off a stellar defensive effort by stopping Cheboygan on a fourth down play with 52 seconds left, lifting them to a 14-10 over the Chiefs in a hard-fought battle of the Straits on a rainy night in St. Ignace. The Saints, who were ranked fourth in Division 8 in the Associated Press High School football poll coming into Friday, finished the season a perfect 9-0, while the playoff-bound Chiefs dropped to 6-3. Both teams will await who they'll face in the playoffs when they tune in to the MHSAA High School Football Playoff Selection Show on Fox Sports Detroit at 6 p.m. Sunday night. The Chiefs were looking to upend the undefeated Saints, whom they had not faced since the 2008 season.But in the end, it was the Saints who held on for the win in by far their stiffest challenge of the season. "We got off to a slow start, so we have to work on that," said Cheboygan head coach Jack Coon, whose team fell down 14-0 early in the second quarter. "You can't just give a team like St. Ignace a big advantage of 14 points, especially with the (weather) conditions we had to play in tonight. That was tough to overcome, but I thought we responded very well in the second half."Despite falling into a hole against the high-octane offense of the Saints, the Cheboygan defense stiffened and shut down St. Ignace completely in the second half. Trailing 14-3 late in the third quarter, senior Stan Swiderek intercepted a pass from St. Ignace quarterback Tyler Snyder to give the Chiefs possession inside Saints' territory. Junior fullback Nik Bevier finished off a 46-yard Cheboygan drive by scoring on a six-yard touchdown run. An extra point by senior Austin Ginop cut the St. Ignace lead to 14-10 with 2:52 left in the third quarter. After Cheboygan's defense held the Saints again on the very next possession, they were on the verge of another scoring drive. However, four consecutive penalties—including three straight holding penalties—barred the Chiefs from any points, helping the Saints retain their lead."Penalties hurt us again. They put us in long situations, and as difficult as it was to throw the ball tonight, you just can't do that to yourself," Coon said. "At this point of the year, we're usually mistake- free, but we just didn't do that tonight."While St. Ignace held momentum for most of the first half, the Chiefs drove 83 yards, which would result in a 17-yard field goal by Ginop to cut Cheboygan's deficit to 14-3 at halftime. "We felt pretty good going into the second half, the kids felt very confident," Coon said. In spite of the defeat, Cheboygan's defensive performance might be one that will be remembered for a while. The Chiefs held the high-powered St. Ignace attack to just 202 total yards on the night, forcing two Saints' turnovers. Heading into the game, the Saints had scored 34 points or more against seven of their eight opponents this season, with the other opponent being a forfeit by Rudyard. "We forced them (St. Ignace) to punt more times tonight than they've punted probably in the last two years," Coon said. "It was a great job by the defense, but we still couldn't get that ball across the goal line for the game-winning score at the end."The Cheboygan rushing attack, who struggled in the first half, ended up rushing for 199 yards in the game, but the passing attack struggled on the evening, as senior quarterback Damon Proctor was four-for-15 passing with only 29 yards. Bevier led the Chiefs on the night with 110 rushing yards on 15 carries, while senior Andrew Dixon added 31 yards on seven carries. Coon admitted the loss will sting for the Chiefs, but also remembered the season isn't quite over just yet. With the playoffs on the horizon for the first time since 2009, a lot of football is still left to be played for the 2012 Chiefs. "I think (knowing were in the playoffs) kinda deadens the pain a little bit," he said. "The fact that we get to practice next week, the fact we get to bring a few sophomores up and add to our roster, and we're going to be one of 256 teams that are still playing football and practicing and getting better. We're happy with that, although tonight was a very disappointing loss."Richard Bentley led St. Ignace with 75 yards rushing and a touchdown, while Curtis St. Louis added 38 yards and a rushing touchdown.